Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.54.18
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
-
rākṣasa-udvāham
—
marriage in the style of demons (i.e., by abduction)
Rākṣasa (one of eight forms of vivāha listed in Manu-smṛti 3.21–34) + udvāha (marriage). For kṣatriyas, rākṣasa-vivāha — winning the bride by force from rival suitors — is dharmically legitimate; Gauḍīyas note that Kṛṣṇa's 'abduction' is the bride's own prior plan via Brāhmaṇa-message (SB 10.52).
-
kṛṣṇa-dviṭ
—
hater of Kṛṣṇa
Kṛṣṇa + dviṣ (one who hates). The technical name of a category of being. Rūpa Gosvāmī classifies kṛṣṇa-dveṣa as a kind of negative connection (vipralambha by hostility); even hatred, sustained, ripens. But far better is service.
-
asahan
—
unable to bear
Present participle a- + √sah. The asurika temperament. To-be-able-to-bear (sahiṣṇu) is a sign of the brāhmaṇa-Vaiṣṇava (cf. CC Madhya 19.149); Rukmī is the photographic negative of that virtue.
-
svasuḥ
—
of his sister
Genitive of svasṛ. Family possessiveness, when uninformed by knowledge of Kṛṣṇa as the original father/brother/owner, becomes a prison. Rukmī treats Rukmiṇī as property; she has already become Kṛṣṇa's.
-
akṣauhiṇyā
—
by an akṣauhiṇī military division
An akṣauhiṇī (21,870 chariots, 21,870 elephants, 65,610 cavalry, 109,350 infantry per Mahābhārata) — one of Kurukṣetra's standard counting units. Vyāsa lists the size to make Rukmī's solitary final charge (v. 23) the more pathetic.
This verse describes the activities when the battle started. He followed behind Kṛṣṇa since Kṛṣṇa had departed for Dvārakā and had entrusted the fighting to Balarāma and others. Hari-vaṁśa says: ādāya rukmiṇīṁ kṛṣṇo jagāmāśu purīṁ prati / rāme cāsajya taṁ bhāraṁ yuyudhāne ca vīryavān // akrūre vipṛthau cāpi gade ca kṛtavarmaṇi / cakradeve sudeve sāraṇe ca mahābale // nivṛttaśatrau vikrānte bhaṅgakāre vidūrathe / ugrasenātmaje kaṅke śatadyumne ca keśavaḥ // rājādhideve mṛdare prasene citrake tathā / atidānte bṛhaddurge śvaphalke satyake pṛthau // vṛṣṇyandhakeṣu cānyeṣu mukhyeṣu madhusūdanaḥ / Taking Rukmiṇī, courageous Kṛṣṇa departed for Dvārakā. He gave the responsibility of fighting to Balarāma, Yuyudhāna, Akrūra, Vipṛthu, Gada, Kṛtavarmā, Cakradeva, Sudeva, Sāraṇa, Mahābala, Nivṛttaśatru, Vikrānta, Bhaṅgakāra, Vidūratha, Ugrasena’s son named Kaṅka, Śatadyumna, Rājādhideva, Mṛdara, Prasena, Citraka, Atidānta. Bṛhaddurga, Śvaphalka, Satyaka and Pṛthu as well as many other leading Vṛṣnis and Andhakas. He fooled those who were following his path.
Tu indicates a different topic. He could not tolerate his sister being carried off since he hated Kṛṣṇa, the supreme lord (kṛṣṇa-dvit). This shows his foolishness and wickedness. Afterwards, he pursued Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa had departed for Dvārakā, leaving the fighting to Balarāma and others. ādāya rukmiṇīṁ kṛṣṇo jagāmāśu purīṁ prati / rāme cāsajya taṁ bhāraṁ yuyudhāne ca vīryavān // akrūre vipṛthau cāpi gade ca kṛtavarmaṇi / cakradeve sudeve sāraṇe ca mahābale // nivṛttaśatrau vikrānte bhaṅgakāre vidūrathe / ugrasenātmaje kaṅke śatadyumne ca keśavaḥ // rājādhideve mṛdare prasene citrake tathā / atidānte bṛhaddurge śvaphalke satyake pṛthau // vṛṣṇyandhakeṣu cānyeṣu mukhyeṣu madhusūdanaḥ / Taking Rukmiṇī, courageous Kṛṣṇa departed for Dvārakā. He gave the responsibility of fighting to Balarāma, Yuyudhāna, Akrūra, Vipṛthu, Gada, Kṛtavarmā, Cakradeva, Sudeva, Sāraṇa, Mahābala, Nivṛttaśatru, Vikrānta, Bhaṅgakāra, Vidūratha, Ugrasena’s son named Kaṅka, Śatadyumna, Rājādhideva, Mṛdara, Prasena, Citraka, Atidānta. Bṛhaddurga, Śvaphalka, Satyaka and Pṛthu as well as many other leading Vṛṣnis and Andhakas. Hari-vaṁṣa Surrounded by one akṣauhiṇī or many, Rukmī pursued the Lord. He was capable of fighting (baliḥ).
Like a thorn furious that a gardener uprooted it from the rose-bush, Rukmī cannot bear that his sister has been claimed by the One she always belonged to. Envy of Kṛṣṇa is, in Gauḍīya reading, the most exquisite form of self-harm.
My note
Source: vedabase.io